1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wagering games, gaming tables, gaming systems, and associated methods. More particularly, the inventions relates to electronic gaming tables, systems, and related methods which provide a set of player stations with user interfaces and display screens for participating in a table game.
2. Background of the Related Art
Table games have been played among players in social settings and in casinos for many years. Table games have included dice games, wheel games (e.g., candy wheel games, roulette, etc.), and playing card games. Playing card games have been the most popular of the table games, but they have always had to address security problems because of the many different gaming objects on a table at one time (cards and chips). Extensive security efforts have been developed over the years to prevent spurious manipulation of the gaming elements in table games.
Shuffling machines were developed to prevent lack of randomness that occurred in the manual shuffling of cards. Dealing shoes were developed so that only top cards could be dealt (rather than seconds or bottom cards fraudulently delivered by a dealer. Varied color chips, chips with RFID technology, video cameras, the eye-in-the-sky and other surveillance technology have been put in place to create obstacles against fraud and collusion at gaming tables.
In the late 1990's, more and more electronic technology was introduced into gaming technology. An objective of the new electronics was to reduce the potential for fraud in gaming as well as to speed up play of the game by eliminating the need for physical gaming objects to be manually placed about the table.
Touch screen displays and button decks have been previously introduced in table games to eliminate physical game components, such as cards and chips. Through the use of touch screen displays, users can perform player or dealer operations through simple or multi-touch gestures. Some touchscreens can also detect and respond to objects such as a stylus or ordinary or specially coated gloves. Various touch screens provide for response to pinching or expanding finger distance while touching the screen to resize the displayed images.
Historically, the touchscreen sensor and its accompanying controller-based firmware have been made available by a wide array of after-market system integrators, and not by display, chip, or motherboard manufacturers. Display manufacturers and chip manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touchscreens as a highly desirable user interface component and have begun to integrate touchscreens into the fundamental design of their products.
Several ways have been previously developed to manufacture touchscreens. The key goals are to recognize one or more fingers touching a display, correctly interpret the command that the touch or gesture represents, and communicate the command to the appropriate application.
One of the more popular touchscreen designs use a capacitive or resistive approach. For a capacitive-based touchscreen, there are typically four layers: 1) a top polyester coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the bottom (this type of layer will be referred to herein as the touchscreen plate, distinguishing it from the entire touchscreen system or panel, which would include layers 2, 3 and 4 below); 2) an adhesive spacer; 3) a glass layer coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the top; and 4) an adhesive layer on the backside of the glass for mounting. When a user touches the capacitive-based touchscreen surface, the system records the change in the electrical current that flows through the display. Dispersive-signal technology which Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. (3M) created in 2002, measures the piezoelectric effect, the voltage generated when mechanical force is applied to a material—that occurs chemically when a strengthened glass substrate is touched.
In addition to the capacitive-based touchscreen designs, there are infrared-based touchscreens. In one type of infrared-based touchscreens, an array of sensors detects a finger touching or almost touching the display, thereby interrupting light beams projected over the screen. In another type of infrared-based touchscreens, bottom-mounted infrared cameras record screen touches.
In each touchscreen design type, the processing system associated with the touchscreen, determines the intended command based on the controls showing on the screen at the time and the location of the touch. There continues to be a need for improved electronic gaming table designs with greater configurability, improved maintainability, and greater flexibility in receiving simultaneous player inputs from multiple player input stations.